Unbound Fox, Cageless Eagle and Mighty Tiger
by dragonsong2795
Summary: Challenge by EDelta88, At the age of five, Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke run away from Konoha, meet up with a Kiri Nin, learn to sail. Join forces with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro and sail the seas in their mighty warship, how will their story unfold and what perils will they meet along the way? Naruhina, Sasu?, KakaKure and many others, Rated M for language and other things.


_This story is my answer to the 'Out to Sea, Pirate Hunter Naruto' challenge posed my EDelta88 several years ago, unlike 'Hinata: The Kyūbi's keeper' which was inspired by one of his works, I hope you enjoy this over Four Thousand word chapter that is the longest Naruto Fanfiction chapter I have currently written._

**Chapter 1:Freedom awaits**

A five year old boy runs down the streets, It's nearly pitch black and almost midnight, he is fleeing from a mob of villagers screaming out slogans like "Kill the Demon" and "Finish it". The little boy is Naruto Uzumaki Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune and the Hero of this tale. Naruto is thinking hard as he runs away from the mob getting further and further away from them. Naruto is thinking of freedom and a way to escape when he finally says "I don't know what to do, I think... maybe I should run away?". Naruto hears a gasp from nearby and looks over to where it came from to see a girl his age cowering behind a trash can. Naruto walks up to the girl and asks "Are you okay?"

The girl shakes her head, Naruto notices that her hair is slightly violet and that she has those weird white eyes like them stuck up clan people, Huga? Huypa? no Hyūga that's it. Naruto holds out his hand and the girl hesitantly takes it. Naruto can feel that she's freezing and pulls her into a hug in an attempt to warm her up, the girl gasps again but happily leans into the hug like she has never been hugged before. Naruto feels for this strange girl who has been through horrible things like him. Naruto relaxes the hug a little and asks the inevitable "Excuse me, who are you?"

The girl gasps and blushes before she says "M-my n-name is Hinata H-Hyūga" Naruto smiles at Hinata.

"Come on, I can take you home" Naruto says as he is about to head off in the direction of the Hyūga compound when he feels a tug on his arm and he turns to see Hinata shaking her head.

"N-no p-please d-don't t-take me b-back t-their e-everyone s-says that I'm w-weak and s-shouldn't be a H-Hyūga" Hinata stutters out with fear visible in her eyes and Naruto then and their makes a decision.

"If you don't want to go home would you like to run away with me?" Naruto asks Hinata as he moves closer to her. Hinata nods furiously not trusting her voice in a choice like this. Naruto frowns and says "Okay come on, try to keep up. Hey can you use those eyes of yours to see through things or haven't they taught you that yet?"

Hinata nods and says "T-they have b-but I c-can only s-see up t-to a h-hundred meters a-at once" Naruto smiles.

"Neat, can you keep an eye out for any guards or villagers around so we don't get caught?" Hinata nods.

"I c-can do t-that, B-Byakugan" Hinata stutters as she makes a seal and activates her Byakugan to search the surrounding areas for anyone that might spot them. They successfully evade the guards and find a hole in the wall near the Uchiha Estate. Naruto and Hinata wiggle through the hole to discover a pale boy their age with onyx eyes and black hair that kinda resembles a duck's butt. Weird. The boy jumps at the sight of them coming out of his secret hole in the wall and says "Who are you? a-and how did you find my hole? and what are you doing here anyway?"

Naruto puts up his hands and says "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, This is Hinata Hyūga her eyes found your hole and we are running away. Who are you? Why are YOU here? and why did you make a hole in the wall?"

The boy says "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I made the hole in the wall so I could practice in secret outside of the wall and I'm going to run away so I can become stronger and make my brother respect me"

Naruto smiles at Sasuke and says "Okay, Hey do you want to come with us? I mean you'll have an easier time getting stronger with some friends right?" Sasuke thinks it over and agrees with Naruto so he nods and Naruto smiles an points off into the distance before he says "Come on lets go that way, we have to run if we're going to get away"

The three of them ran off into the night, the only witness to their escape was the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi standing on top of the wall surrounding Konoha. He smokes from his ever present pipe, stares up at the full moon and thinks _'I'm sure you'll do great thing Naruto. At least you've got friends watching your back'_ Hiruzen sighs letting out a cloud of smoke from his mouth and then thinks _'Hiashi and Fugaku are going to be livid when they discover their children have run away. Minato I'm sorry I couldn't help your son when he needed it most. But I can help him now'_ Hiruzen pulls out a pouch of scent neutralizer and covers the area with it. He summons a couple of monkeys to spread it further, within two hours not even an Inuzuka would know that the three children had gone this way. Hiruzen heads back to his home praying that the three would be alright.

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke are lost. But they keep running in the direction they started from. Eventually it was just Naruto running while he carried Hinata and Sasuke. All those years of fleeing from mobs and having to move heavy things out of his way are finally helping him. Naruto eventually stops and hides in a tree with his two new friends on either side of him.

The next morning they wake to the smell of food cooking and all three of them are confused, they hear a feminine voice say "Come out little mice ,I won't hurt you" Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke climb out of the tree whose roots they were hiding in to see a red haired woman with a top knot in a blue outfit sitting there next to a campfire, she has a Kiri Hitai-ate but no of them know that. She smiles at them and says "Three little Children, It looks like you are from Konoha considering one of you is a Hyūga. You know I think I've got an idea, how would the three of you like to be Shinobi-Pirates?"

Naruto knows what pirates are but didn't know "There are ninja Pirates?"

The woman laughs and says "Of course, normal pirates used to exist but then Shinobi came to the land and they died out. There aren't any Shinobi-Pirates now but I would like to train some, specifically you three little mice"

Naruto frowns and says "Why would you do that? and why aren't you afraid that our parents are going to stop you?"

The woman laughs again and the peals of silvery laughter fill the clearing and she says "Little one, if your parents knew you were here wouldn't they be with you? Also would I have gotten this close to you if they were here? You three are obviously runaways, I give you this though you must have some great stamina to have come all this way. You three are very close to the land of Waves. As to why I want to train you, I'm leading a rebellion and was on my way to Konoha to ask for help but I'm guessing that would be a waste of time. Since I found you three I want to train you up so as 'Pirates' you can help sneak food and weapons to my rebel, okay?"

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke nod and walk a short distance away and begin to huddle close to each other while discussing the idea. The woman watching was having trouble not screaming 'Kawaii' and hugging the three, she managed to control herself... just.

"I think it's a great idea" Naruto whispers.

"I agree w-with N-Naruto-kun" Hinata replies.

"Hmm I not sure, how will this help me?" Sasuke asks.

Naruto stops and thinks and says "Well she's probably going to train us so we're going to get stronger, not to mention we get to fight real Shinobi and other people so we're going to get stronger because of that"

"Hnn, you make a good point" Sasuke reluctantly admits.

"Okay let's do it then" Naruto says.

They break out of their huddle and turn towards the woman, Naruto steps forward and says "Okay we'll do it, there just one thing I want to know"

The woman raises an eyebrow and asks "Oh and what is that?"

Naruto deadpans with "Your name would be helpful"

The woman face palms and says "I knew I was forgetting something, I'm sorry my name is Mei Terumi. I'm a SHARK of Kiri, You can think of me like your ANBU. Now since we are on the subject of names what are yours?"

"Naruto Uzumaki" _'An Uzumaki, he must be Kushina's child. I'm happy my old friend's legacy still lives on. Kushina I'll make you proud'_

"H-Hinata H-Hyūga" _'The Heiress, When I visited Konoha for the Chunin Exams I found Hiashi to be a stuck up bastard, I guess Hisaki must of tamed him somehow'_

"Sasuke Uchiha" _'Heh, Heh Fugaku I've got your youngest child, I'm tempted to train this one just to get back at the Teme for calling me a bitch who'll never get married'_

Mei smiles "Well, well I've got some good ones here huh, Now I'm going to train you three for however long it takes to make you into good Shinobi-Pirates. But first since I don't want you families to come after me, how about I give you my SHARK masks that I never wear, I usually carry four of them but I gave one to a young girl who was adopted by a friend of mine." Mei pulls out a scroll and unseals four ceramic masks with a wave drawn on them in blue. "Now little ones, do you have any animals you like?"

Naruto smiles and says "I like Foxes, their clever"

Hinata stutters out "U-umm I l-like E-eagles b-because they f-fly free"

Sasuke perks up interested and says "Tigers, since they are big cats that everyone respects"

Mei smiles and pulls out a paint brush and some red ink, using the inked paint brush she draws one of the masks to look like a fox, one to look like an eagle and the last to look like a tiger. With some simple Katon, Futon, Suiton, Doton and Raiton jutsus and a secret jutsu she adheres the paint and chakra to the masks and makes them stronger so that very few weapons or jutsus can break them. (A/N 1) Mei then hands the children the masks and says to them "The first part of your training is to wear these masks and only refer to each other and yourselves as the animal on the mask, so Naruto you are now Kitsune (Fox), Hinata you are Washi (Eagle) and Sasuke you are Tora (Tiger). Only ever reveal your real name behind a privacy seal and only to someone you trust. Okay"

The three masked children nod. Mei smiles and packs up camp and leads the children away so they can begin their training.

_One Year and Two Months later, Near an Abandoned cove 12 Kilometers south of Suna._

Three children as just walking over a sand dune heading towards a sandstone arch only twenty meters ahead of them. All three of them are heavily armed, the one with a fox mask and blonde hair has twin katana strapped to his back and several scrolls on quick draw pouches on his thighs. The one with a slight violet tint to her hair and an eagle mask has a Naginata on her back and a Wakizashi on her hip, she also has several scrolls in quick draw pouches on her thighs, she also seems to be carry some sort of furred animal in her arms. The last of the three is a male with a Tiger mask and strange black hair style that appears from a distance to be a ducks rear end, he is armed with a Katana and Wakizashi at his hip and a Fuuma Shuriken on his back. All three of the children though exhausted from travelling are alert for any motion that could mean an enemy in hiding. All three of these children are just six years old.

"Oh man it's so hot" Naruto complains as they walk through the last arch of sandstone before the cove proper.

"K-Kitsune, you've b-been saying t-that ever s-since we e-entered the l-land of w-wind" Hinata replies still stuttering when she talks to Naruto even after a year of being his companion.

*sigh*"I know I've been complaining but Mei-Oneesan's training was brutal, and the only ship she could find that is even worth sailing is in the middle of nowhere. Why is a ship this far out in the desert anyways, there had to have been easier ports." Naruto says somewhat dejectedly.

"Hnn, I never thought it would happen but I agree with the Baka, it does seem strange" Sasuke states after thinking over Naruto's rant (A/N 2)

"Teme, do you have to insult me even as you agree with me?" Naruto asks Sasuke.

"Yes" Sasuke instantly responds with.

"Well I have to agree with your complaints about the heat K-Kitsune, even poor Mini-Tora is unhappy" Hinata says as she gently pets the demonic cat that she picked up the day after meeting Mei. Naruto and Sasuke shudder as they look at the cat remembering how they found it.

_Flashback, One Year, One Month and Thirty days Earlier_

_Mei had been teaching them some basic theory as they walked along, Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were still getting used to their new trainer/Sensei who they had meet just the day before and the strange masks they now wore._

_As they were walking along suddenly Naruto stopped and said "Hey what's that over their?" point towards some bushes that were rustling slightly._

_Sasuke immediately pulled out a kunai and threw it with surprising accuracy towards the rustling bushes, a earsplitting yowl is heard and Naruto, Hinata and Mei jump back on instinct just as a furred menace... Cough I mean a harmless cat with a red ribbon on her left ear jumps out of the bushes and savages Sasuke's face._

_Hinata goes to her knees and says "Come here kitty cat, come on" The cat swipes it rear legs over Sasuke's face like she is burying something and walks over to Hinata. Hinata quickly starts petting the cat and soon reads her name tag/ribbon. "Tora, huh, we've already got a Tora so you'll be Mini-Tora from now on okay". Mei tries to hold her laughter in at the horrified faces of the two boys who quickly realize that the cat will be staying with them from now on._

_Flashback End_

Since getting Mini-Tora, Sasuke and Naruto have spent hours trying to kill the cat only to discover to their amazement that the damn thing is somehow immortal, they even swear they cut its head off and the cat survived and kept trying to claw them to death until they put it back on, at which point Mini-Tora clawed them half to death anyways. They even swear that the cat can use jutsus and is just as powerful as a Jounin-class Shinobi. Mei and Hinata were never brave or crazy enough to test these rumors, just in case they proved to be true and they ended up annoying the cat.

Over the past year and a bit, Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke had made names for themselves as B-class Nin without a home village. After bagging several high-class bounties and having a number of high-class missing Nin owe them favors, including a certain shark faced swordsman and blond Iwa nin with a passion for explosives. They'd made a name for themselves as the _Mist-wraiths_ due to Hinata's almost God-like ability to control and manipulate water which is said to be equal to or greater than the Nidaime Hokage's abilities at Water Manipulation and Control. Using Hinata's or Washi as she was known, ability to create mist using the **Kirigakure no Jutsu** (Hidden Mist Technique) Mei had taught her, they would attack from within the mist and from that strategy, because of that they were often thought to be creatures made of mist almost a ghost story for anyone with a bounty on their head. Until they had been added to every Bingo Book with a 25 Million Ryo Bounty for their successful capture and delivery to any of the Five Great Hidden Villages, then they were no ghost story but B-class Nins with unbelievable levels of skill. They learned the basics of the **Silent Killing Technique** from Mei, who admitted that while she was good at it, the only master she knew was Zabuza. Three months earlier, about a month after Mei finished training them and returned to the Land of Water to lead the rebellion they encountered Zabuza and paid for lessons to complete their knowledge of silent killing from Zabuza, who happily charged them through the roof for their lessons, at least he was kind enough to give a discount for three studying at once.

Back in the present Naruto whistled at the size of the ancient warship sitting partially out of the water on the sandy beach. Mei had given them the location of since their last ship was destroyed in a explosion (Who knew that a mouse and a spoon could do that much damage?), It was easily a hundred feet long and probably around thirty to forty feet wide, it appeared to have some grassland on it, probably to provide extra food on long journeys. Naruto and his two companions start to run towards the ship hoping for a drink of water, they quickly find the rope ladder to get aboard and as they climb up Naruto comments on something "Hey Washi, Tora! This ship has supposedly been lying here for over a thousand years right?"

"Y-Yes Kitsune" Hinata replies

"Hnn Yeah, so what?" is Sasuke's retort

"Well I was thinking, if the ship has been here for that long, why is it in perfect condition and why haven't the sails and ropes rotted?" Naruto queries as they climb

"T-That's a very good question" Sasuke stammers with a white face as he realizes the implications of the question.

"E-either someone h-has maintained t-the ship o-or it h-has powerful s-seals keeping it intact" Hinata adds with what little she knows of Fūinjutsu.

"Yeah your right Washi, I guess I forgot that they could have used seals to keep the ship from decaying, I've got to study them. While we're talking what should we name this beauty?" Naruto asks as he climbs over the railing onto the main deck.

"How about your grave?" A male voice responds. Naruto's head snaps up so fast that the three children and adult standing on the deck are surprised it doesn't break. Naruto quickly starts to analyze them as Hinata an Sasuke climb over the railing behind him _'The girl is carrying a small fan, maybe a wind user like me, the middle boy has make-up on... is it supposed to be war-paint, he's playing with a puppet so he must be a puppeteer, the youngest is... Sweet Kami, he's a Jinchūriki like me. I can sense his malice and KI from over here, he must be close to breaking and going psychotic. The man seems nervous, I wonder why... Oh he must know who we are, interesting'_

Naruto smiles and says "By the way you are sweating you appear to be hoping it won't be _your_ grave instead, so I'm guessing you know who we are, so would you mind telling me who you are?"

The man nods "Sure, I'm Baki Jounin of Sunagakure no Sato, and these three are my charges, Temari (8 Years old), Kankuro (7 Years Old) and Gaara (6 Years Old). You are Kitsune of the Mist-wraiths, I'm guessing your two friends are Tora and Washi?"

Naruto smiles and comments "Huh, I guess you do know who we are, well now that's out of the way, why would a Suna Jounin and his three charges be on a boat in the middle of nowhere?"

Baki swallows nervously and says "Vacation trip, you?"

Naruto smirks "We've come to claim the ship" He replies

While this is happening Gaara is stepping away from the three new arrivals as his 'mother' warns him that they are dangerous, **'Stay away from them, especially that fox, he is very powerful, I have fou**ght him before and he-' as he gets closer and close to the ocean he notices that his mother voice is fading and isn't as loud, he comments on this "Strange, Mother's voice seems to dislike the ocean or is that mother herself"

"Hmm Mother, I fairly certain that, that voice you hear isn't your mother, As to why it disappeared, Shukaku the Ichibi as an earth demon would hate the water" Naruto's calmly comments on this bizarre situation. Everyone else except Gaara just give Naruto a 'How can you be calm?' look, Naruto notices the looks and shrugs.

Gaara nods slowly and says "That... Makes sense" Baki has to agree with the statement as well.

Naruto then stretches and says "Well, are you going to let us take the ship? Going to fight us or let us have the ship?"

A voice from behind Naruto answers "You may have the ship on one condition"

Naruto whirls around to see a man wearing Kage robes and a Kage Hat with the symbol of wind on it, the man is surrounded by masked SCORPIAN guards, Naruto bows and says "You must be the Kazekage, May I ask what this condition you speak of is?"

The Kazekage nods and replies "The condition is simple, you must take my three children and their teacher Baki with you wherever you go until they wish to return home to Suna"

Naruto looks at Hinata and Sasuke who both nod and turns to the three Kage's kids and says "We're fine with it how about you three?" He doesn't bother to ask Baki because he knows the man will come due to the order from his leader.

Gaara nods "I have no quarrels with the idea, I had hoped to remain onboard where mot- the voice can't speak"

Temari looks at Kankuro who nods and then she says "If Gaara's going then so are we, besides it might be fun to see parts of the world that aren't covered in sand"

Naruto turns back to the Kazekage and says "We accept your conditions, Kazekage-sama. I assume the standard 'if they get hurt or killed through some stupid action you life is forfeit' threat is valid?"

The Kazekage nods while smiling behind his veil and replies "Of course, what father would I be if I didn't make such a threat, The ones about my daughter apply as well, you know which ones"

Naruto and Sasuke smirk and reply in unison "Of course we know, we've heard them enough times" They then bump fists while thinking of their escapades in other countries. Hinata just sighs.

The Kazekage smiles again and says "Well then I hope my children have a good time then, I'll send a message when you three are old enough if you wish to enter the Chunin exams, that applies to you too, Kitsune, Washi and Tora I'll sponsor you three for the exams if you wish to earn the rank of Chunin, Now I must be off paperwork waits for no-one" The Kazekage turns around and goes to jump over the railings, he stops when he hears a whistle, he turns to watch Naruto throw a scroll at him. He catches it and sees it's a scroll for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu

Naruto smiles and says "As thanks for the ship, use the Shadow clones to do the work while you relax, everything they do is sent back to you when they dispel anyways"

The Kazekage shakes his head in bewilderment and jumps over the railings, his SCORPIAN guards follow him, within minutes they're out of sight headed back to Suna.

Naruto turns to the others and asks "So anyone got a good name for this magnificent ship" As Naruto says this they all walk closer to Gaara so they won't have to shout to him and each other.

Hinata pipes up with "I think it should be called 'The Free Spirit'"

Sasuke scoffs and says "Can it get anymore cliché, really Washi. Instead how about 'The Unbreakable Will'"

"And you said my idea was cliché, yours is so over used that my Grandmother could've thought up a less tacky one" Hinata shouts.

"Like yours was any better 'The Free Spirit' what are we, hippies, pansies, Girls" Sasuke drags out the word 'Girls' while pretending to preen as if he was in a mirror.

"I wouldn't know, besides even if you had a dick it would be so small it would be hard to tell the difference" is Hinata's... elegant reply.

"Why you... Feather-brained whore"

*Gasp* "Damn you! You no good... Oversized rat-catcher"

"Whore"

"Rat-Catcher"

Naruto just face-palms as he watches Hinata and Sasuke argue and continue to fling insults at each other. He turns to the sand siblings to hear their conversation while ignoring the screaming in the background.

Temari is speaking "-hat's why I think we should call it the 'Kamikaze'"

Kankuro shakes his head "I don't know sis, I mean 'The Puppet' is more accurate"

Temari nods "Yeah but more boring as well"

Gaara speaks up "I think that 'Wave-Strider' would be most accurate"

Kankuro smiles and says "That's a great Idea Gaara, but it is a little too, what's the word... umm. Oh I know it's too overdone. I mean a lot of fantasy stories and manga have a Wave-Strider as one of their boats or Inns"

Gaara nods "That is a good point, I think I'm out of ideas"

Temari sighs "Yeah... Me too, I guess 'Kamikaze' is a little too much"

Kankuro turns to Naruto and says "Do you think you should stop that fight?"

Naruto turns around to see Hinata repeatedly kicking a downed Sasuke in the nuts while grinning sadistically, Naruto turns back and says "After seeing the look on her face would you interfere?"

Kankuro grins "I guess you have a point, Hey where's the mangy fur-ball that wa- ARGH, GET IT OFF GET IT OFF" Kankuro screams as Mini-Tora scratches his face for calling him a 'Mangy Fur-Ball'

Naruto turns to Temari and Gaara and says "And that's why you don't call Mini-Tora a Mangy Fur-ball"

Baki pales on hearing the name and asks "Y-you d-don't m-mean T-the I-immortal D-D-Demon C-Cat of K-Konoha, D-do y-you?" Baki's face is a mask of pure terror and he is stuttering badly, Temari and Gaara are shocked to see him in such a condition.

Naruto nods and says "Yeah, we picked her up a year ago the only one she list-" "TORA, come here please" Hinata cries, Naruto continues "Listens to is Washi, to mine and Tora's woe whenever that cat is pissed off" Naruto looks around at Hinata who is using Mini-Tora to maul Sasuke, he walks up to Gaara and Baki while Temari walks over to Hinata and whispers "I'm terrified of when Washi starts PMSing, as she'll probably set that cat on whoever pisses her off first" Gaara looks confused and Baki just nods sagely, the nod of a man whose had many Girlfriends and suffered through many a period with said girlfriends.

After Hinata, Temari and a Seriously Mauled, heavily limping Sasuke rejoin them Naruto makes his suggestion "How about 'The Unbound Dream' for while we sail this ship our dreams will be as boundless as the horizon and as vast as the ocean" The rest of them nod at this and agree to the idea, they notice the sun is going down and head down to find the cabins, Naruto however stays in the Captain's cabin.

The next day they wake to find the ship's new name mysteriously painted on the sides of the ship, they all look at each other and wonder _'Just what exactly IS this ship anyways'_. Gaara uses his sand manipulation to dig a trench around the front of the ship and then Hinata uses her Water Manipulation to force water into the trench and push the ship away from the beach, As the sun reaches the middle of the sky they sail off, and for the next Six years they make more of a name for themselves, on their travels many famous and infamous Missing-Nins and sailors join their crew. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke quickly rise to become SS-rank Nins in the Bingo book with Hundred Million Ryo bounties in Iwa for their actions.

_Six Years Later, Konoha Eastern Gate, 9:30 in the morning_.

As Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuuhi and her students, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hanabi Hyūga depart Konoha with Tazuna, they have no clue just what will await them in the land of Waves of how it will lead to their eventual meeting with a group of renowned pirates simply know as 'The Wraiths'. As Kakashi looks up from his Icha-Icha he and Hanabi both share a shiver, they wonder what this mission will involve. They won't have to wait long.

(A/N 1 The elemental properties of the jutsus used in the masks creation are used to counter elemental jutsus that hit the masks)

(A/N 2 Due to them not going to the academy together Sasuke refers to Naruto as Baka instead of Dobe... Baka means idiot to those of you who don't know)

_Did you enjoy it, was it a little forced, could something have been improved? Review and tell me what you think off my latest dive into the Naruto world, In regards to my 'Hinata: The Kyūbi's keeper' story I'm planning on it going up until the end of Pein's assault on Konoha, at which point it will be followed on by a sequel set in a crossover with another Anime/Manga, my current favorite is Negima! In which Naruto and Hinata will be bound in the World Tree and released just before the start of Negima! A Vampire, A Mage and a Hanyou, hey that's a great title isn't it? well enjoy and see you soon - dragonsong2795_


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